The Tate Lecture Series became a big sticking point at Tuesday’s Senate meeting as members debated the merits of a resolution encouraging more diversity.
The bill, proposed by Dedman II Senator Richard Ferry but written primarily by Diversity Chairwoman Serenity Norman, was written to commend the Tate Board on its programs. But it also made a recommendation to encourage the Board to seek more culturally, racially and ethnically diverse speakers.
“This bill says nothing negative about the Tate Board,” Norman said. “It simply says ‘[the Tate Board] is doing a great job. Here’s how you can do it better.’ It’s not a slap in the face. It’s just a recommendation on how to do it better.”
Other senators were uncomfortable with passing the bill without proper research. Some senators felt that it might cause strife between the Tate Board and Senate.
This year the Tate Series attracted only three females and no minorities. Over the past few years, the Tate Lecture Series has brought actress and singer Julie Andrews, former Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa Desmond Tutu and Palestinian Authority spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi.
“I think we will be better off speaking to our own student representative [to the Tate Board] first,” International Senator Wilfred Job said. “If there is another way we can explore this situation through Student Foundation or the student representative, I think we should explore it before passing the resolution.”
Norman countered by revealing that she had discussed the situation with the student representative. Norman said that she didn’t know whether the student representative simply “doesn’t work or doesn’t care about diversity.”
Norman also took offense to the implication made by a senator that bringing a diverse speaker might hamper fundraising efforts for the Tate Lecture Series.
“To argue that because we’re going to bring more diversity [to the Tate Lecture Series] then fundraising will go down [is] offensive, and I have seriously underestimated the character of this body,” Norman said.
Senators then attempted to table the bill, but that motion was rejected because it would essentially kill it. Instead, Ferry withdrew the bill for future consideration in the fall after a request by First-Year Senator Robbie McDonough was made.
Senators also withdrew an earlier bill drafted by Meadows Senator Erica Weber. Weber’s bill focused on asking the university to end the selling of student contact information to outside companies.
“I didn’t feel like I had the information from the administration that I felt I should have had,” Weber said. “I should have talked to certain parties this week that I wasn’t able to. Bringing the issue to light and passing it on to the Student Issues Committee would be a better idea.”
Senators failed to pass two other bills. One was to add the pledge of allegiance as part of the order of business for Senate, and the other dealt with allowing charitable student organizations to access the entertainment fund for programming.
Dedman I Senator Michael Dorff proposed the addition of the pledge even though a similar bill was killed last semester. Opponents argued that the bill would isolate members not from the United States and in particular the international senator position, which is not traditionally held by an American citizen.
“It’s indirectly coercive because it could have harmful effects among senators if someone doesn’t stand, and it could cause strife,” Business Senator Marcus Brown said. “If you don’t respect the flag, you could be asked to leave. Just because this body doesn’t have a problem with it doesn’t mean nobody next year will.”
The Senate defeated the pledge proposal.
Panhellenic Senator Julia Neely’s bill to allow charitable student organizations to get money from Senate’s Entertainment Fund, which has not been used since George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars visited in fall 1999, was also defeated.
“The entertainment fund has not been utilized as much as it should,” Neely said. “There’s a lack of knowledge and awareness of this fund, and charitable events are ideal for it.”
Senate did pass one bill that encourages the SMU Police Department to further secure the Moody Coliseum Parking Garage. The bill was proposed to stem crimes committed in the garage, including thefts and vehicle damage.
SMU PD has already begun securing the property by making it mandatory to swipe the SMU identification card between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. to access the garage. The Senate passed the bill easily.
